Hasbrouck is among 18 players in a weeklong summer workout session with the Miami Heat, playing alongside Heat regulars Michael Beasley, Mario Chalmers and Daequan Cook, all while team president Pat Riley and coach Erik Spoelstra watch his every move.

It's the process when someone tries to go from a mid-major to the big time.

"I hope I make a team. That's what my goal is," Hasbrouck said. "That's what my dream is. I really want to be on an NBA team this year, next year, whenever I can get it. I'm going to keep pushing as hard as I can to make it."

The 6-foot-3 guard caught Miami's eye earlier this year, showing enough promise to earn an invitation to South Florida. Other than the returning Heat players, no one is essentially guaranteed anything once this camp ends.

Many of them, like Hasbrouck, know they're long shots to stick around.

But there's a chance, which is all they're asking for.

"We'll be able to compete, play a lot of 5-on-5, put in 60 to 70 percent of our offense and defense," Spoelstra said. "It's unique."

Siena's league, the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, doesn't exactly have much of an NBA lineage. Former Rider standout Jason Thompson was a first-round pick by the Sacramento Kings in 2008, and the best-known MAAC player to make it in the NBA was Lionel Simmons, who left La Salle nearly two decades ago.

Still, having Hasbrouck in NBA company is a neat perk for Siena, which has won 50 games over the past two seasons.

"Here's a guy that was way under-recruited and really worked himself to the point where he got on the radar screen, then kept getting better," Siena coach Fran McCaffery said. "He's a guy that has intrigued a lot of NBA people. He can play both spots, he's a fierce competitor and he's got tremendous character. So it's not out of the realm of possibility that he could make a roster."

When McCaffery got to Siena, the team was at the bottom of the MAAC. One of the biggest keys to changing that, McCaffery said, was getting Hasbrouck - and part of the sales pitch was a promise that, if Hasbrouck did what Siena asked, the NBA would give him a look.

Sure enough, here's the look.

"Kenny deserves what he's getting," McCaffery said.

Hasbrouck went to the Portsmouth Invitation last spring, starting his NBA auditions. The New Jersey Nets worked him out, and the Memphis Grizzlies took Hasbrouck to Las Vegas for summer league. When Hasbrouck didn't get in any games, he excused himself and flew to Miami, hoping to set himself apart from the pack with defense.

"He's a phenomenal defender," McCaffery said. "He can defend on the ball, off the ball, guys who are 6-foot-8, guys who are 5-foot-8. He's quick and he's powerful, and that's what you have to be at that level."

Hasbrouck said getting to the NCAAs twice - and having the Saints score upset opening-round wins each year - played a big role in helping him prepare for the NBA challenge. He's not in awe by being around NBA players, or even a Hall of Famer like Riley, who grew up only a few miles from Siena's campus and is particularly revered in New York's Capital Region.

"Playing on a big stage doesn't affect me anymore," Hasbrouck said. "Playing against some of the best and most athletic guys in the country, it's not a shock to play against them now."